AP Physics Course Expectations

Advanced Placement Physics B: Course Expectations
Mr. Andrade

Central High School

Identification: This is the Advanced Placement, B course in physics.
In universities, its equivalent is offered as a one-year, terminal course -
designed as a more thorough - though less mathematically rigorous - treatment
of physics for life science, pre-med, other applied science and non-science
majors who need one physics course as a distribution requirement.

Purpose: There are two, equally good, reasons why a high
school student might decide to take this course. First, he/she may like the
subject enough to desire a more profound, college-level understanding of its
complexities. Physics teaches a person how to think analytically and the thrill
of successful problem solving, coupled with a deeper insight into the everyday
function of the world around them, instills self-confidence and peace of mind.
Second, the student may desire to take the AP Physics B Exam in order to obtain
college credit for this course and thereby accelerate their undergraduate
program. In this respect, it needs to
be stressed that this course may not qualify for credit towards a physics or
engineering degree. For these majors, universities often require a more
rigorous treatment of this subject matter, with a much greater emphasis on
calculus. Thus the student taking the Physics B course and majoring in these
fields may still need to take introductory physics in college. Of course, the
preparation of such a student will be much better than average. Having said
this, individual colleges vary greatly in their requirements and several
students pursuing engineering degrees have had the Physics B course accepted
for credit.

The AP Physics B Exam: This three hour exam is divided into two, ninety
minute sections. The first includes 70 multiple choice questions, the second
contains six or seven, multiple-part free response questions (word problems).
The exams take place between the first and second weeks of May each year.

Course Outline: The over-riding consideration in this, and any AP
course, is the large quantity of material that must be covered in order to
prepare completely for the AP exam in May. This
mandates a rapid pace. There will be less time for review than other
courses can offer, and not all of the material that needs to be addressed can
be covered in the classroom - the
student must read and study at home. We meet for 90 minutes, every
other day. Typically, class resources will be budgeted as follows: a) we open
with time for questions concerning the previous day's material or about
concepts or problems encountered during the night's study; b) then we move into
lecture introducing and illustrating new concepts - and punctuated with
demonstrations as frequently as possible; c) finally sample problems, based on
the new material, are solved. Certain days will be dedicated solely to problem
solving and/or laboratories and activities. Many online and multimedia
resources will be used to help the student gain an understanding of the
material.

Study: The rapid
pace of this course necessitates a large quantity of at-home preparation on the
part of the student (and teacher!). Time must be spent going over class
notes, reading new and re-reading old material from the two texts, solving
conceptual and numerical word problems, and thinking. Physics is unique from
many courses in that almost all of its components require periods of unbroken
concentration and coherent thought in order to master them. You can not really
"get" physics merely by reading the words. Proper and fruitful
textbook study involves reading, pausing, considering, analyzing book graphics,
and sometimes note taking.

Texts: The AP Physics B course here at Central High School
uses Physics: Principles with Applications, 5th ed., by Douglas Giancoli. This
book does an excellent job of explaining the principles of physics and has an
enormous amount of examples in the book for problem solving. There is also an
online companion website with additional resources and practice problems.

Word Problems: There will be homework assigned for each chapter of the
textbook. These should be done according to a set, step by step scheme
(including the writing of related quantities, symbols and data, base equations,
solved equations, and problem solutions with units, as well as occasional
dimensional analysis). These problems are tough but, in the end, enjoyable
(dare I say fun?). All students must have a good scientific calculator that
they are familiar with. Also, students should consider forming study groups -
often several heads are better than one.

Class Participation: Active class participation is encouraged in science.
Our class periods are relatively few (given the magnitude of what lies ahead)
and, therefore, precious. Use it to clarify doubts encountered in your study at
home.

Notes: Lectures will completely cover the major themes of
this course. They will be organized according to the AP Physics B syllabus. Lectures
will be presented in a way that should be clear to the student, less cluttered
with obscuring detail than is often found in textbooks, so that students can
see just what the important points really are. Class notes on this lecture
material should prove most valuable, especially when plowing though the
textbooks at home. Most of the conventions for notation will be the widely
recognized ones used by Giancoli.

Resources: There are a number of good resources that should be
of aid throughout this course. Keep them in mind as we go along: 1) In addition
to the textbook we are using, there are ten or so other good physics textbooks
in my room. These may be consulted and/or borrowed at the student's
convenience. Often, a different presentation of a theme helps to make it
clearer. Also, different texts have different strengths; 2) My website, www.physicsmedic.org, which has links
to a variety of physics resources to help you gain a mastery of the knowledge
3) The list of objectives for the AP exam, taken from the types of questions
asked on exams over the years; 4) The practice AP Physics B exams you will
receive throughout the year - complete with multiple choice and free response
sections; 5) your own, accumulating base of solved word problems in a bound
notebook.

Grading: We will have three or four exams per quarter. These
will emphasize the skills demanded by the AP test - there will be an emphasis
on problem solving. In addition, there will be quizzes, labs, and homework
problem sets. These exams will contain released exam items from past AP exams.

Labs: We should have a lab once every two weeks. Again, time is the
constraint here and this is unfortunately the component of this course that
will be the first to be sacrificed if we get behind (other schools offer this
course at almost double the class time per week). Emphasis will be placed on
in-class demonstrations should labs be curtailed. More complete lab write-ups
will be required, occasionally. Due to equipment and lab supply limitations,
some labs may be virtual labs done using software or online resources.

Me: I am here to help you succeed in this course. There are liable to be
many questions with concepts and word problems - encountered in evening study.
Working in study groups should help students answer many of these on their own.
Otherwise, I am available for questions and extra help during free periods,
breaks, and after school. Please feel free to come and talk if you are having
doubts or difficulties. You may also email me with questions at dandrade@bridgeportedu.net. I
usually check my email each evening and on weekends.

Remember, your success in this course
depends on your
effort and the time you spend on this course. This is a college
level course, and as such, it will require college-level time. You should be
spending, at a minimum, one hour, every day, on this course. Even if there is
no official homework, you should be reviewing your notes and reading the
textbook. Take time to explore the web links on the class web site and explore
physics in more depth.